Sanitary basin



Sept. 12, 1944. BRACKE 2,358,139

' SANITARY BAS I N Filed Aug. 16, 1943 Patented Sept. 12, 1944 SANITARYBASIN Robert F. Bracke, Arlington Heights, 111., assignor to R. F.Bracke & Company, Chicago, 111., a partnership composed of Robert F.Bracke and Robert Anderson Application August 16, 1943, Serial No.498,809

9 Claims.

My invention relates to sanitary basins, and is more particularlyadapted for, but not limited to, use in the lavatories of industrialestablishments employing people who handle foodstuffs or surgicaldressings or other articles which are to be protected againstcontamination.

An object of my present invention is to provide a sanitary basin whichsupplies a fresh quantity of disinfecting liquid to each user of thebasin.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved sanitarybasin wherein the disinfecting liquid is applied to the hands of theuser in the form of a spray, whereby a relatively small quantity ofliquid is effective thoroughly to disinfect all portions of the usershands.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved sanitarybasin of a type wherein the disinfecting liquid is contained in a bottlewhich may be readily removed and refilled or replaced by another bottlecontaining a full charge of liquid.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved sanitarybasin which is inexpensive to manufacture, may be easily installed, andhas an attractive appearance.

The sanitary basin herein illustrated and described is an improvementover that disclosed in my issued Patent No. 2,319,034., for Sanitaryapparatus, dated May 11, 1943.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the descriptionproceeds.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a front view of a preferred form of sanitary basin embodyingmy invention; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

I have illustrated my novel sanitary basin as having a pedestal lprovided with any suitable base, not shown, and intended to rest uponthe floor of a lavatory or other room. The upper end of the pedestal l0merges into a trough l2 having an upwardly inclined forward portion l4terminating in a rounded edge l6 providing an opening through which bothhands of the user may be inserted into the trough. Above the trough I2is a liquid receptacle l8 adapted to contain a quantity of disinfectingliquid for application to the hands of the user. This liquid may besupplied from any suitable source, but I have found it preferable toprovide the upper end of the liquid receptacle [8 with a support or rest20 for a bottle 22 containing the disinfecting liquid and forming asource of supply for the liquid receptacle or container [8.

The bottle 22 may be of any suitable size and type, and I have foundthat the five-gallon bottle commonly used to supply Water for watercoolers and like purposes is eminently suited for this purpose. Thisbottle is merely turned upside down in the annular support 20 which isconformed to fit accurately to the portion of the bottle surrounding theneck and thereby provides a firm and adequate support for the bottle andits contents. The annular support 20 has a reversely curved edge 24which rests upon the upper edge of the wall 26 of the liquid receptacleI8.

When a bottle containing disinfecting liquid is first installed in therest 20, part of the liquid runs out of the mouth of the bottle andfills the lower portion of the liquid container 18, as clearly indicatedin Fig. 2. When the liquid level in this container reaches and seals themouth of the bottle, no additional liquid flows from the bottle into thecontainer until some of the liquid in the container is withdrawn. Inother words, the liquid level in the container is automaticallymaintained at the level shown in Fig. 2. It is to be understood that theannular support 20 is not intended to form an airtight seal with theupper edge of wall 25, and if necessary or desired, the upper part ofthis wall may be serrated or provided with openings to provide freecommunication between the upper part of the liquid container l8 andatmosphere.

The trough I2 is divided into two hand-receiving compartments 28 and 30by a central partition 32 depending from the base of the liquidcontainer l8 and illustrated as being integral therewith. That part ofthe container base located above each of the compartments 28 and 30 isprovided with an integral boss 34 into which a nozzle 38 is threaded orotherwise suitabl secured. The upper end of each nozzle 36 has a taperedvalve seat 38 which is normally closed by a tapered valve (it) carriedby and reciprocable with a rod 52 having its lower end projecteddownwardly below the lower end of the nozzle 36 and terminating in aknob or button 44. The lower end of each nozzle 36 is inclined inwardly,as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and forms a guide for the lower end of therod 42.

The upper end of each rod passes through an opening in the lower leg 46of a U-shaped bracket 48 secured to the rear wall of the liquidcontainer 18. A spring 50 interposed betweenthis leg and valve 4%]normally holds this .valve in closed position. The upper end of each rod42 is located immediately beneath a switch 52 in such manner that when arod is moved upwardly,

the upper end of this rod engages the adjacent switch 52 and closes thenormally open contacts thereof. The two switches 52 are carried by theupper legs of brackets 48 and are arranged in series in an electricalcircuit 54 which controls the latch on a toilet door in the mannerdisclosed in my said patent, or controls the latch on a turnstile asdisclosed and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 498,810,filed August .16, 1943.

When the rods 42 are raised to engage the switches 52, valves 40 aremoved to open position and liquid from container Hi can flow downwardlythrough the nozzles 36 and onto the hands which'are engaging the knobs44 and holding the rods 42 in elevated position. The lower ends of thenozzles 36 are preferably provided with a plurality of small openings 56so that the liquid is delivered to the hands in the form of a spraywhich quickly disinfects all portions of the hands. As soon as the handsare removed from beneath the buttons 44, springs 59 and the force ofgravity acting on the rods 42 return these rods to valve-closingposition to cut off further flow of disinfectant from the container l8.Any disinfectant which does not strike the hands of the user or whichdrains oif of his hands, falls into the trough l2 and is carried away bypipe 58 connected to the sewage system of the building.

In the drawing I have illustrated a form of my invention wherein thepedestal H3, trough l2, container 18, and partition 32 are all part ofasingle iron casting, which may be enameled or otherwise finished in anysuitable or conventional manner. It is not essential, however, thatthese parts of my novel sanitary basin be formed in this manner, as theseveral parts may be separately formed in any suitable manner and madeof any suitable material, and may thereafter be secured together in anyconventional or suitable way. Where it is preferable to support thesanitary basin from a wall or other partition instead of resting it onthe floor, the pedestal l may be dispensed with and an integral orseparate bracket may be provided for attachment to a wall or othersupport in a manner similar to that disclosed in my said Patent No.2,319,034.

Since the two switches 52 are arranged in series in the electricalcircuit, this circuit is only completed when both switches are closed.It is therefore necessary for a person to use both hands to operate thevalve rods 42, since partition 32 prevents operation of both of theserods by a single hand. The operation of these rods produces a spray offresh disinfectant so that the user does not come incontact withdisinfectant which has been previously used by others. All useddisinfectant quickly drains into the sewer pipe 58 so that useddisinfectant does not collect and stand in the trough l2.

Whenever the bottle 22 becomes empty, it may be readily removed forrefilling or replacement by another bottle containing a full charge ofdisinfectant. The unused disinfectant is protected at all times againstdirt and other contamination, and evaporation is reduced to a minimum bythe limited communication between the disinfectant and atmosphere. Bysupplying the disinfectant in the form of a spray, a minimum quantity isrequired for each person and the disinfectant is well distributed overthe person's hands.v

While I have illustrated and described in detail only asingle embodimentof myinvention,

it is to be understood that my invention may as-;

sume numerous other forms, and includes all variations, modifications,and equivalents coming within the following claims.

' Iclaim:

1. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a pedestal, ahand-receiving trough carried by said pedestal, a partition dividingthis trough into two hand-receiving compartments, a liquid containerabove said trough, means for automatically maintaining a predeterminedliquid level in said container, a spray nozzle located in eachhand-receiving compartment and communicating with said liquid container,a valve controlling flow through each nozzle, a rod for operating eachvalve, each rod having a hand engaging portion located in one of saidcompartments, and switch means operated by each rod, said switch meansbeing adapted to be arranged in series in an electrical circuit.

2. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a unitary castingproviding 'a pedestal, a hand-receiving trough, a partition dividingsaid trough into two compartments, a liquid-containing vessel locatedabove said compartments, a nozzle connecting each compartment with saidvessel, manually operated valve means for each nozzle, and an electricalswitch operated by each. of said last named means.

3. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a single castingproviding a hand-receiv-- ing trough, a liquid container located abovesaid trough, a, partition dividing said trough'into two hand-receivingcompartments, conduit c0nnecting said liquid container with each of saidcom-- partments, manually operated valve means foreach conduit, andlatch releasing means con-- trolled by said valve means. 7

4. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a hand-receivingtrough, means dividing;v

said trough into two hand-receiving compart-- ments, a liquid containerfor supplying disinfectant to said compartments, a separate manuallyoperated valve means for each compartment, and a bottle support mountedon said container.

5. A sanitary basin of the class described.

comprising a pedestal, a hand-receiving trough carried by said pedestal,a partition dividing; this trough into two hand-receiving compartments,a liquid container above said trough, a; spray nozzle located in eachhand-receiving com-- partment and communicating with said liquid.

container, a valve controlling flow through each.

nozzle, a rod for operating each valve, each rodi having a hand engagingportion located in one; of said compartments, and switch means operatedby each rod, said switch means being adaptedtto be arranged in series inan electrical cir-- cu1 6. A sanitary basin of the class describedcomprising a pedestal, a hand-receiving trough, a partition dividingsaid trough into two compartments, a liquid-containing vessel locatedabove said compartments, a nozzle connecting each compartment with saidvessel, manually operated valve means for each nozzle, and an electricalswitch operated by each of said last named means. a

7. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a hand-receivingtrough, a liquid container located'above said trough, a partition di--ally operated valve means for each conduit, and

latch releasing means controlled by said valve means.

8. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising two hand-receivingcompartments, a liquid container for supplying disinfectant to saidcompartments, conduit means connecting said container and compartments,a separate manually operated valve means for each compartment, a bottlesupport mounted on said container, and

control mechanism operated jointly by both valve 10 means.

9. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a trough havingupwardly inclined walls surrounding a drain opening in the lowermostportion of said trough, means dividing said trough into twohand-receiving compartments, means for supplying a spray of liquid toeach of said compartments, a manual control for each of said last-namedmeans, and electrical switches operated by said controls.

ROBERT F. BRACKE.

